The Flowers of Egypt

On February 5, 2019February 4, 2019 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Egypt, Photo Challenge8 Comments

Mention Egypt to someone and images of desert sand and pyramids immediately come to mind. However, one of the images that will remain with us as we think back about our trip to Egypt were the orange blooms of the Poinciana trees and other flowers that we saw during our visit. Perhaps because so much of the trip was spent surrounded by sand and stone temples that every flower that we did see stood out even more. The pop of color was definitely a contrast to the surroundings and we saw these vibrant trees all around Egypt, but especially in Cairo as well as the surrounding suburbs.

Blooming Poinciana Trees with a Mosque in the Distance

One of our favorite memories of the Poinciana trees was during our tour of Old Town Cairo where we saw them all around the ancient mosques. The colors were so bright and vibrant that it was hard not to focus on the trees as much as the historical buildings that we were there to see. It is amazing how sometimes something as simple as a flowering tree can bring back such vivid memories of a location that you’ve visited. The Poinciana trees will always remind us of our time in Egypt.

Another Perspective with a Mosque in the Background

Capturing Local Life in Egypt

On December 11, 2018December 11, 2018 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Egypt6 Comments

One of the things that we do during our travels is to try and capture images of local life and not just photographs of historic sites that we see. We often take tours where we drive through various areas of cities on our way to our intended destination and often these glimpses into the real lives of the people who live there are as fascinating as the tourist locations that we visit. It started with our trip to India many years ago where we took photographs of the stores, houses, and people who lived throughout Chennai. We have continued to do so during all of our trips, especially those where the lifestyle of the people where we are visiting is different than our own.

It is an interesting way to get a sense of a culture that you might not get otherwise. Clearly, any country is diverse and no single picture can capture the entire society, but it is often a window into things that you won’t find in any travel books or brochures. Taking photographs from a traveling vehicle isn’t always easy and you often have just a second to try and capture the image that you see as you drive by. Because we are taking the photographs from a car traveling through a neighborhood, the people in the pictures have no idea that their photograph is being taken. That allows us to take photographs that capture real life, unfiltered.

We were on several tours during our time in Egypt as we visited cities like Cairo, Luxor, Edfu, and Aswan. On each of these tours, we were able to catch different images of local life from these very different cities. Because we saw such a wide variety of people going about their daily lives, it did give us a sense of the overall society. Do you ever take candid photos as you travel from one location to another that aren’t about the destination, but the journey?

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo

On October 8, 2018February 9, 2021 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Egypt12 Comments

No visit to Cairo, Egypt would be complete without making time to tour the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. As with many other sites in Egypt, having an Egyptologist as a guide is extremely helpful if you want to learn as much as possible during your time in the museum. There are so many items on display within the museum that it can be quite overwhelming. In addition to the sarcophaguses, papyrus hieroglyphs, and pieces of art, there are several dramatic statues housed within the museum.

Obviously, much of the treasures of Egypt can be found in museums throughout the world including the British Museum and the Smithsonian Museum. Even if you have visited one of these other museums and seen the treasures, such as the golden articles found in King Tutankhamen’s tomb, it is certainly worth going to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo. Seeing these artifacts on display in their own country is certainly a source of national pride for Egypt. For years, they have been trying to reacquire as many of the treasures and statues as they possibly can.

To truly enjoy and see a majority of the museum will take you the majority of a full day. At the very least, you should plan on about four hours and that will likely be at a fairly brisk pace.